Sword Theory 2: Analysis
Sword Theory 2: Analysis 'Introduction' In Sword Theory 1, you learned about the fundamental rules that any good SFer will need to know.(whether they be learned consciously or instinctively) Unfortunately, SFing isn't that simple. We also have to account for other forces that can influence SFing, and how we can attempt to sway these forces to our advantage. These are just theories and will never be 100% proven. For some, this may be a lot to take in. If it ever feels like too much, just relax and resume another time. Editor's Note: This book is currently irrelevant and could lead to the wasting of your time. 'Attributes of Sword Strategy' All sword strategies will fit into one or more of these categories. Also, these are not JUST categories, they are also attributes. We?ll get back to that later, but first you should understand each attribute. Defense: Counter enemy actions and/or stand ground. Illusion: Trick or surprise enemies. Evasion: Avoid damage while hitting opponent. Speed: Hit opponent faster than they can hit you. Offense: Disrupt enemy strategies and possibly intimidate. Control: Manipulate aspects of the game to win. You can remember this using the acronym DIE SOC. *'Defense:' Any move used to as a reaction or counter is defensive. If you are preventing someone from advancing in your direction, that is also defensive. *'Illusion:' Any move used to trick/surprise/catch-off-guard/deceive would be considered illusion. *'Evasion': Aids to your ability to avoid damage are considered as evasion, even if those aids are part of an attack. Need an example? Let?s say you barely tap an enemy with a lunge, then put the sword away and move back. Putting the sword away lets your right arm get out of the way so that your opponent cannot counter-attack and hit your sword arm. *'Speed:' Any move that takes near or full advantage of your turning speed. Mouselock cannot do this. *'Offense:' Attacks that move towards the enemy while lunging OR having lunge damage. The longer you can maintain an offensive without backing up, the more offensive the move is. *'Control:' Any aid to manipulate aspects of the game such as but not limited to lag, the enemy?s behavior, the playing field, your position in relation to the enemy, and the enemy?s mindset Many strategies make use of multiple of these, but it is the one that it focuses in that determines which category(s) it is in. On average(but not always) mouselock styles are higher in defense, evasion and control while classic styles are higher in speed, offense and illusion. Want to see some strategies from each category? If so, check out Way of the Sword 2012 (Style) Outdated. It has the main attribute stated, and may mention other attributes the strategy relies on. 'The Rule of Lag' Other than the 3 rules of SFing, there is another rule that will affect you. This is the #1 reason why the Volley System is imperfect. If Roblox games never had any lag, the Volley System would be nearly 100% reliable. The rule of lag states that if you move in a laggy environment, there will be other copies of you in areas you were just in. (The more lag, the more copies dating back longer you will have) The old copies will be doing what you were doing, so if you were lunging then the sword that the copy holds will do lunge damage. Keep in mind that you cannot literally see the copies, as they are just a theoretical representation. So let?s say you have some lag. How can this be remedied? First off, turn your graphics all the way down by going to the menu -> game settings. If this doesn?t solve the problem to your satisfaction, then try playing from a bird's eye view?. This can help because looking in the direction of a large quantity of bricks will yield a higher lag. Playing in bird's eye view will put a higher limit on this amount(usually). Let's say you can't turn the lag down. How can you take advantage of lag? The short answer is: use an offensive strategy. If you are using a strategy that has defensive qualities, then you?ll be at a huge disadvantage in laggy environments. On the other hand, offense takes advantage of all the vulnerable copies of people. (You defeat the copy, and the person is also defeated) 'Which Attribute Should I Focus On?' That's a hard question to answer, because it depends on your preferences. Also, don't think that you can just balance everything: because chances are that you'll rely on one attribute heavily anyways. Do you consider yourself patient? If you're impatient, then you definitely want to use offense. If you're highly patient, then you would want to use evasion. Anything in-between would be defense, illusion, speed, or control. Do you consider yourself stubborn? If you're stubborn, you would want to use defense or control. If you're more or less carefree then evasion is a good choice. Do you get bored easily? If you do, then illusion or offense would probably suit you. Are you sassy or scrupulous? If you are either, then speed may be a good choice for you. 'Negative Attributes' You can lose from being too weak in any one attribute. These reasons for losing are called negative attributes. *'Cornerable' If you are weak in defense, then enemies can corner you. When you are cornered, you have no space to volley on and your chances of violating the volley system are very high. *'Predictable' If you are weak in illusion, then your actions will be easy to predict. *'Weak-Willed' If you are weak in evasion, you may find yourself outlasted by opponents who play defensively(which then leads you to make a foolish mistake just because you?ve gotten fed up with all the inactivity in the fight). *'Slow' If you are weak in speed, you will find that opponents are able to have faster responses than you, and you would be incapable of keeping up if you got any closer than the sword tip. *'Hesitant' If you are weak in offense, then you may find yourself too hesitant to attack when you really should. (Usually because you?d be too focused on countering the opponent to see when attacking is right) *'Oblivious' If you are weak in control, then you may be partially unaware of aspects of the game. This may be because the strategy you are using is complex or demanding, which would then take away from your attention on the game. You can remember these with the acronym CW SHOP. So, what's the point of negative attributes? You want to be able to see each attribute in action, and to know WHY someone loses. Once you know why you lose or win, you'll know what to work on to improve. These and attributes can both be relative terms. So you can also be neutral in an attribute. For example, someone who is neutral in control is aware of their surroundings, but doesn?t use them to their advantage. 'Why Use a Style?' The difference between using a strategy and playing instinctively is the difference between knowing what you?re doing and not knowing what you're doing. The more specific of a strategy you use, the more say you get in what you're doing. Styles are usually fairly specific. Check out Way of the Sword 2012 (Style) Outdated to find a bunch of them. When you have a specific routine, then you can pinpoint even more specifically why you lose or why another person loses. But, you can make the argument that the majority of pro SFers play instinctively. However, many of them actually do have fighting routines, but just don?t pay attention to it. Even when avoiding that, what are the chances of you rising to a pro level instinctively? Not so good, it turns out. Most SFers play instinctively. Most SFers never go above the moderate level. Only a select few are naturally attuned to SFing. 'Advanced Rules of Swordfighting ''(Outdated) '''1: Do not enter the attack range without being in a lunge. 2: Do not expose openings in the attack range, and hit any opening exposed within your attack range. 3: Hit only with the tip of your sword on the edge of your attack range. This mostly looks the same, right? There's just a tiny word change in rule 3. In a pro fight, in most cases the only thing you get is the tip. If you get any closer, you are the one that is at risk of a sweep (swing). If your opponent got any closer, they'd be at risk of a sweep from you. This is the main reason that classic users can dominate over mouselock users in the higher levels. Being a mouselock user is hard at that level, because if you get any closer than the tip, then you won't be able to swing into a tie, and will promptly lose. Is it better to use the advanced rules than the normal ones? No. You want to use these if you are a mouselock user, or if you want to take on a famous SFer. 'Analysis' The point of all this is to answer the question. Why do people lose in swordfighting?? Here are some sample problems. 1. A mouselock user is fighting a classic user. The mouselock user goes in for an attack, then tries to back up, but is sweeped by the classic user. a. Why did the mouselock user lose? b. What negative attribute(s) is the mouselock user displaying? c. What attribute(s) is the classic user displaying? 2. Player 1 charges at player 2. Player 1 gives an opening in the attack range, and Player 2 is backed into a corner. Player 2 then attempts to attack, but has no room to back up, so he exposes an opening and is defeated by player 1. a. What did Player 2 do wrong? b. What negative attribute(s) is player 2 showing? c. What type of strategy is Player 1 using? 3. 1 and 2 are fighting, and neither is winning. 3 then comes from behind. 1 dodges, but 2 is caught off guard and defeated. a. What attribute is 3 using? b. What negative attribute(s) is 2 showing? c. Did 2 violate any of the laws in the Volley System? If yes, which one(s)? 4. Person B is using evasion heavily. Person C is balanced in all attributes. Person C gets fed up with the long fight, and goes in for an attack, and is then countered and defeated. a. Is person C displaying a negative attribute in this situation? If so, which one(s)? b. Did person B demonstrate another attribute other than evasion? If so, which one(s)? c. How does this example show the importance of perspective in analysis? (Get #5 right without looking at the answers and you get a theoretical cookie) 5. Person D focuses in exploiting the flaws he sees in the opponent. Person E focuses in playing to her strong points, but doesn?t pay much attention to the opponent?s strategy. a. Which person is more likely to be successful? Why? b. What negative attribute(s) is(are) shown, and who is showing it? 6. Player 1 intentionally makes the game change from lag-free to heavily lagged. Player 2 follows the Volley System perfectly but loses from an all out attack from Player a. How could player 2 have lost? b. What type(s) of strategy is player 1 using? c. Is anyone showing a negative attribute? Which person and which attribute? ANSWERS 1. a. Because he broke the 3rd rule in the advanced rules of swordfighting. In other words, he got into sweeping range when he did not have the ability to sweep. b. Slow (and possibly Oblivious) c. Speed 2. a. Didn?t attack the opening given to him. Also let himself be cornered. b. Hesitant and Cornerable c. Offense 3. a. Illusion b. Oblivious c. Yes, rule 1 4. a. Yes or no. If yes, then Weak-Willed. Maybe person C is bad at all attributes. Maybe person C is neutral in all attributes, in which case there wouldn?t be a negative attribute in play. b. Defense c. You can see which player is better in a certain attribute, but this does not necessarily tell you if one player was just bad in that attribute, or whether the other was good at it. 5. a. Person E is much more likely to be successful. Person D?s strategy will lead to his own loss because it will make him gullible to illusion. b. Predictable, person D. 6. a. The rule of lag b. Control and Offense c. You could argue that Oblivious is shown by person 2, but you could also argue that no one is showing a negative attribute. 'Closing' That was interesting. I hope you enjoyed the book. I always enjoy feedback on my works.